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AN ADDRESS 


DELIVERED BEFORE THE LITERARY SOCIETIES 


OF 



SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, 


ON THE EVENING OF THE FOURTEENTH OF JULY, A. D. 1852, 

BY REV. J. G. HARRIS, A. M., 

OF HYATTSVILLE, OHIO, 

FORMERLY PROFESSOR IN THE COLLEGE. 


l*0BLISHED BY TIIK EXCELSIOR SOCIETY. 


SPRINGFIELD: 

J. MAYNE, PRINTER. 

1852. 


















































SI 




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. 




- 















♦ 

’ : - 























































































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AN ADDRESS 

% 

DELIVERED BEFORE THE LITERARY SOCIETIES' 

OF 

Utfllllftf lllllll 

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, 

ON THE EVENING OF THE FOURTEENTH OF JULY, A. D. 1852, 

BY BEY. J. G. HARRIS, A. M., 

- it 

OF HYATTSVltLE, OHIO, 

FORMERLY PROFESSOR IN THE COLLEGE. 


PUBLISHED BY THE EXCELSIOR SOCIETY. 


SPRINGFIELD: 

J. MA YNE , PRIN TER 

1852 . 




























•i 


Reverend Sir : 



Wittenberg College , October 14, 1852. 


i 


The members of the Excelsior Society of Wit- | 
tenberg College, have unanimously expressed themselves 
highly pleased with the moral and practical worth of your 
oration, delivered before them on the Commencement occa- | 
sion, and have authorized us to address you, and solicit a 
a copy for publication. 

Yours, fraternally, 

D. SCHINDLER, j 

J. GRAFF, > Committee ,. 

C. L. EHRENFELD,) 

To Rev. J. G. Harris. 


Hyattsville , Miami County , O., Oct. 19, 1852. 

Gentlemen : 

In accordance with the unanimous wish of your 
Society, I cheerfully comply with your request, and here¬ 
with transmit a copy of my address to be disposed of as may 
best advance the interests of your association. 

Yours, respectfully, 

J. G. HARRIS. 

Messrs. D. Schindler, J. Graff, C. L. Ehrenfeld, Committee. 



Exchange 

Poabody Inst.,Balto. 
•» Jan. ™28 
















ADDRESS. 


Young Gentlemen': 

*■' , • y; t , 

The few moments which we have been able to save 
from domestic duties, the paroxysms of the ague, and the | 
arduous labors of an extensive ministerial charge, have j 
been devoted to the preparation of this essay—hoping that ! 

I it may prove gratifying to all our former associates, as well j 
•as the public in general. 

The love of glory is the most ardent of all human af- j! 
fections. It glows alike in the bosom of the peasant and 
the king. For this the poet sings, the orator pleads, and 
the warrior bleeds. According to the bias which it receives 
from early education, it produces the greatest good or the 
greatest evil. Directed into a proper channel, it dispenses 
the blessings of peace, prosperity, and plenty, like a river, 
i Assuming a different direction, it creates confusion,conflict, 
and carnage. However much men may be dazzled by the j 
meteor glare of pageantry, pomp, and parade, true glory | 
is nothing else but the shadow of virtue. If virtue depart, 
glory will certainly disappear. Where there is no sub¬ 
stance, there can be no shadow. The path of duty and 






























4 


usefulness will ever be found to lead to glory and happi- | 
ness. But as many and almost insurmountable obstacles 
present themselves in the way of rectitude, it may be j 
proper to contemplate their influence on the life and char- 
acter of men. And, therefore, we announce as our theme, 
on the present occasion:— Difficulties are no serious ob¬ 
stacle IN THE WAY OF GENIUS, BUT RATHER INCENTIVES TO ITS , 


HIGHEST RFFORTS. 

History furnishes us with almost innumerable illustra- 
| tions of this truth. The question is not, where shall we 
i find examples ? but which shall we choose out of the great 
| abundance? Our own thoughts have been directed to the j 
I discussion of this subject, by rising from a perusal of the j 
! “ Memoir of the Rev. Samuel Haynes, by Dr. Cooley.” j 
The eminent success which crowned the efforts of this pious j 
man of God, in opposition to what would be regarded by 
men of ordinary minds as utter impossibilities, excites our | 
astonishment and admiration to their utmost tension. Born 
of unnatural parents, of whom, the father was of unmin¬ 
gled African extraction, and the mother of respectable an¬ 
cestry in New England, he was discarded by them from the 
day of his birth; and although he inherited the name of 
neither, yet shared the shame and disgrace of both. His 
was the only hope of the poor orphan. “ When my father 
and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.” 
At the age of five years he was bound out as a common 
servant to a farmer of singular piety, under whose exem¬ 
plary conduct and teaching, he was pointed “ to the Lamb 
of God which taketh away the sins of the world.” After 
having passed the dangers incident to childhood, he was 




























t 



sent to a district school, and shewed an uncommon apt- i 
ness in acquiring the rudiments of an education. If it i 
were asked at what institution young Haynes received his | 
instruction, it might be answered, in the chimney-corner of ! 
Deacon Rose ; and what were his text books, the reply would 
be, the Bible, Young’s Night Thoughts, and Watts’s Psalms 
and Hymns. Being a good reader, he was frequently em¬ 
ployed by his master in reading aloud every Saturday 
evening, the sermons of Watts, Whitefield, Dodridge, and ; 
Davies. The idea once occurred to him, to prepare a ser¬ 
mon of his own, and read it before the family. At the close 
of the exercise, the unsuspecting old deacon, whose eyes, 
like those of Jacob, had become dim with age, inquired— 
Whose sermon have you been reading? Is it Davies, or 
Watts, or Whitefield’s? Haynes blushed and hesitated, 
and at last replied, “It is Lemuel’s sermon.” After a 
critical examination of this sermon, composed without stu¬ 
dying the Evidences of Christianity, Archaeology, Biblical 
Criticism, Rhetoric, or Homiletics, we may safely assume, 
that it is a better production than those of half the young 
men, who are ordained by our Western Synods. In after 
life he became a flaming witness of the truth, and was 
exceedingly useful, and sought after in revivals of religion. 
He also received the degree of A. M. from one of the most 
respectable colleges in New England. One of his master 
efforts seems to have been displayed in his contest with 
Hosea Ballou, the apostle of Universalism, whom he tri¬ 
umphantly vanquished in a sermon delivered impromptu, 
from the text, “Ye shall not surely die.” It may be proper 
to state here, that this sermon is one of the most popular 




















I 



arguments, which has ever been published against that 
loose and corrupting system of doctrine, and has been 
printed and reprinted both in England and America, until 
no one pretends to mention the number of editions. Sum¬ 
ming up all his virtues in the couplet of Shakspeare, we 
may say, 

“ He was a man, take him for all in all; 

We ne’er shall see his like again.” 

We give this illustration on account of its appropri¬ 
ateness to the peculiar situation of most young men con¬ 
nected with our literary institutions. They have difficulties 
of no ordinary character to surmount in the acquisition of 
a thorough education. And yet we venture the assertion, 
that no young man ever became less useful in after life by 
being pressed with trials and discouragements vrhile a stu- 
! dent. Opposition is absolutely necessary to arouse the 
dormant powers of the immortal mind, and fully to develop 
all its resources. An eminent statesman remarks, “ Eter- 
| nal vigilance is the price of liberty.” With equal propriety 
! we might say, Eternal effort is the price of eminent useful¬ 
ness. If the sentiment of Aristotle be true, that a statue 
lies hid in every block of marble, and that the art of the 
I statuary only clears away the rubbish, we ought not to 
shrink from the rude touches of the chisel and the hammer 
in the form of obstacles. It may be the only way of remov¬ 
ing superfluities and developing the whole man. What is 
an education but overcoming the obstacles of nature and 
circumstances? Nature gives us the material in its rude 
state, art polishes and improves. Addison beautifully ob¬ 
serves : “ What sculpture is to a block of marble, education 
























7 


is to a human soul. The philosopher, the saint, or the hero, 
the wise, the good, or the great man, very often lie hid and 
concealed in a^plebian, which a proper education might 
have disinterred, and have brought to light.” The art of a 
Phidias or a Praxiteles consisted not in creating a statue, 
but in bringing it out from its hiding place. 

Napoleon Bonaparte commenced his wild and mad car¬ 
reer of military glory, surrounded by almost insurmountable 
difficulties. After he had conceived the stupendous plan of 
crossing the Alps, he one day called his chief engineer into 
his presence, and revealed his mighty project. The engi¬ 
neer almost stunned by the magnitude of the enterprise, 
hesitated and demurred. Without waiting for any of his 
objections, the emperor inquired, “Is the route practica¬ 
ble?” “ It is barely possible to pass,” was the reply. The 
next step is the command to the advance column of the 
army : “ Press forward ! ” And then, amid incredible labors, 
wild enthusiasm, Alpine storms, lofty mountain peaks of 
perpetual snow, the everlasting glaciers, and deep moun^ 
tain gorges, he presses onward and upward until the last 
summit is scaled. The descent is as easy as the ascent is 
difficult. The sunny climes and fair fields of Italy open 
upon his ravished eye, and victory crowns the valor of his 
arms. Hannibal, in his invasion of Italy, in the days of 
the ancient Romans, had doubtless performed the same 
feat, but the place and manner are matters of mere con¬ 
jecture. The undaunted McDonald passed the Splugen in 
the midst of winter, and in the face of terrible and mighty 
avalanches, which overwhelmed and precipitated two hun¬ 
dred of his brave soldiers down an awful chasm three 

















8 


thousand feet in depth. And the brave Suwarrow, pursued 
| by an enemy, led his mighty army over the Schachenthal 
| breast-deep in snow. But the passage of Napoleon over 
' Mt. St. Bernard is generally acknowledged as the most stu- 
1 pendous achievement of the kind ever presented to the 
i gaze of an astonished and admiring world. This achieve¬ 
ment is another illustration of the aphorism, “ What man 
has done, man may do.” And the student, as he journeys 
up the giddy height of high Parnassus, need only inquire, 
“ Is the route practicable ? ” And having ascertained that 
the difficulties which beset his pathway, can be surmounted, 
let him not shrink from a fair trial, and though mountain 
uppn mountain, and alp upon alp, arise to obstruct his pro- 
gress, mountains will dwindle into hills, and hills will melt 
I into plains. 

. 

Kossuth, on account of a political offence against the sus¬ 
picions and tyrannical government of Austria, was shut up 
in a dungeon without being allowed a single political work. 
Clearly foreseeing the advantages which might possibly be 
derived from the acquisition of the English language, he 
obtains an English grammar, W'alker’s dictionary, and a 
copy of Shakspeare, and applies himself with such close 
and minute attention as to spend at first whole days in 
reading a single page, but, step by step, he at last over¬ 
comes all the difficulties of a foreign language without a 
living teacher; yea, more, is enabled to speak it with such 
fluency and ease as to surpass some of the best orators in 
their native tongue. If this great patriot had not been 
persecuted and thrown into prison by his enemies, his fer¬ 
tile genius would never have been exercised to its fullest 





















9 



extent. He never would have acquired so intimate a 
knowledge of our language, or have been able so effectu¬ 
ally to expose the policy of tyrants and the wrongs of his 
oppressed country. And he never would have enlisted, to 
the same extent, the strong sympathies and material aid of 
a nation of freemen. Men of doubtful minds may, how¬ 
ever, insinuate that circumstances, over which we have no 
control make great men. Admitting this, we would also 
add, that great men make circumstances. The whole sen¬ 
tence then would read thus : Circumstances make great men , 
and great men make Circumstances . “ Man is born a hero, 

and it is only by darkness that heroism gains its greatest 
and best developments and illustration—then it kindles the 
black cloud into a blaze of glory, and storm bears it more 
rapidly to its destiny.” 

Almost every young man, who has ever entered classic 
halls, is doubtless acquainted with the almost supernatural 
efforts of Demosthenes. Ill-favored both by nature and 
circumstances, he overcame the most inveterate habits by 
his unconquerable will. To prevent stammering he spoke 
with pebbles in his mouth. To remove the distortion of his 
countenance, he watched the movement of his muscles in a 
mirror. To remedy the unnatural shrugging of his left 
shoulder, he suspended above it a naked sword. To 
strengthen his lungs, he ran frequently up hill. To ac¬ 
custom himself to the noise and tumult of a popular as¬ 
sembly, he declaimed aloud before the dashing waves of 
the sea-shore. And that he might study without interrup¬ 
tion, he passed whole months in a cave, and there wrote 
and re-wrote the history of Thucydides ten times, in order 























10 


that he might form his style after so pure a model. We 
need not advert to the brilliant success of his indefatigable 
labor. All history teems with his glory. His enemies in 
subsequent life ridiculed his productions, sneeringly re¬ 
marking that they “ smelt of the lamp.” This should be 
regarded rather as a compliment than as a reproach. 
Surely no scholar will deny Cicero’s great natural talent, 
and yet in. his rules for the formation of a public speaker, 
he insists upon the student toiling with the pen. His own 
words are, “ Stilus optimus et praestantissimus dicendi 
effector ae magister.” The pen is the best , the most excellent 
former and director of the tongue. He thus intimates the ne- 
cesstiy of severe application. 

As this address is intended chiefly for the encourage¬ 
ment of students, let us advert to the case of the Rev. Da¬ 
vid Brainard, the great apostle of the Indians. While a 
student at Yale College, he incautiously made an unguarded 
remark in private in reference to one of the teachers : “ He 
has no more grace, than this chair.” Such a remark, even 
though uncharitable, ought to have been overlooked in so 
young a man, especially when made in private; or, he 
should have been affectionately rebuked. But, neverthe¬ 
less, he was expelled from the College. When we reflect 
upon the odium which attaches to a young man under the 
ban of expulsion, the great wonder is that he did not yield to 
the force of circumstances, and give up in despair. A sense 
of his wrongs, however, seemed only to arouse his dormant 
energies, and make him the instrument, under God, of the 
j greatest revivals which have ever occurred among those 
! rude children of the forest. Had he never been expelled, 
















11 


perhaps he never would have been the same holy man. 
But no thanks are due, on this account, to the resentment 
of his teacher. The fame of Whittlesey has perished. 
W’ho knows anything about Whittlesey, save that he was 
a teacher in Yale College? But the name of Brainard is 
familiar to every intelligent Christian, and will be lisped by 
future and unborn generations, as the man whom God de¬ 
lighted to honor. 

Tradition says, although we have never seen it in print, 
that when the Hon. Daniel Webster was refused a diploma, 
and, perhaps, justly too, stung with shame at his failure, he 
told the faculty they should hear from him again. They 
did hear from him, and, if alive, hear from him every day. 

We do not wish to be understood as making these re- | 
marks to encourage students in idleness or insubordination. 
No ! We have long since learned the truth of the poetic 
sentiment: “ Order is heaven’s first law,” and that to govern 
well, we must first learn to be governed. Our design is ! 
rather to show what men have done and can do, when, by | 
some unexpected event, the latent energies of their minds 
are brought into action. 

Time would fail to tell of a Luther, who, when a stu¬ 
dent, sang his “ Panem propter Deum,” from door to door, 
to satisfy the demands of hunger. His genius only kindled 
in proportion as the Pope and the Devil, and all the com¬ 
bined powers of a proud, pampered, and persecuting hier¬ 
archy arose in dreadful array before his vision. Of a 
Franklin, whose father was an humble tallow chandler, and 
who, himself, walked Market street, Philadelphia, with a 
roll of bread under each arm, a poor printer’s boy; but 




























subsequently became an ambassador to the most distin¬ 
guished courts of Europe, and has been honored with the 
name of the great American Philosopher. Of the Rev. 
Robert Hall, who, on account of his timidity, actually failed 
twice in succession in his endeavors to preach, but finally 
overcame this defect, and became the model preacher of 
his age. Of our own beloved and lamented Keller, who 
once wended his way from his father’s residence to Pennsyl¬ 
vania College, with ragged shoes on his feet, and barely 
one quarter of a dollar in his pocket, and who, with his 
own hands, assisted in piling the bricks which reared this 
consecrated temple. 

We need not tell this audience that he filled the most 
responsible stations in the church with the highest ability. 
“ He pleased the pious, he enlightened the ignorant, he 
satisfied the inquiring, he overawed the skeptical— 

“ And fools who came to laugh, remained to pray.” 

Having presented to your consideration a number of 
illustrations to show the influence of difficulties in devel¬ 
oping a man’s powers, it might not be amiss to mention a 
few qualifications essential to overcoming difficulties. 

The first is conscious integrity. Purity of motive should 
ever characterize the actions of every aspirant after true 
greatness. His ambition should be like that of the eagle, 
who, while he denies not to other birds the right of soaring 
above the clouds, yet towers in mammoth gyrations above 
all his tribe. He should first ascertain whether his cause is 
just, honorable, and humane. Nor should he be unmindful 
of the means which he employs in the accomplishment of his 

















13 


end. To employ foul means in a good cause, is as base as 
to employ fair means in a bad cause. It is base, because I 
a good cause needs no such miserable shifts. None but the 
wily Jesuit could ever adopt, as his rule of conduct, “ The 
end justifies the means.” Low cunning, treachery, decep¬ 
tion, dissimulation, lying, and other mean arts, by which the 1 
mass of mankind seek to accomplish their designs, enter 
largely into the dispositions of brute beasts, and should not 
for a moment be entertained by a man who aims at honor¬ 
able principles. He who supplants a worthy rival, either 
by his own meanness, or the meanness of his friends, that 
moment looses his self-respect. He feels that he has done 
violence to a tender sensibility of his soul, which he ought 
to value more than a mine of gold—his own integrity. 
We would not sully our integrity for the honors and emol¬ 
uments of a thousand worlds. Hear the noble reply of the 
gallant Reed, when solicited by British gold to betray his 
country in the revolutionary struggle : “ I am not worth 
purchasing; but, such as I am, the king of England is not 
rich enough to buy me.” Place by his side Benedict Ar¬ 
nold, the traitor, and you will have a contrast as strong 
as the bright fields of Elysium and the dark abodes of Tar¬ 
tarus. Says the eloquent Wirt, “ Conscious integrity is one 
of the strongest elements of a decided character.” 

The second qualification is cheerfulness. By cheerfulness 
we mean all that is implied in the expression of the apos¬ 
tle Paul, “ a willing mind.” By the exercise of this happy 
disposition we are prevented from desponding in the begin¬ 
ning of any enterprize. It must be obvious that despond¬ 
ency in the beginning , generally stamps failure on the end. 





















14 

Nothing, therefore, is more important than to possess a 
fund of cheerfulness, and to enter upon a duty with our 
hearts beating with high hopes and bright anticipations. 
This disposition will prompt a man at least to try before 
he despairs. We have an apt illustration of this in the 
battle of Chippewa. Gen. Ripley, perceiving how fatal 
to Scott’s brigade was a British battery of artillery, said to j 
Col. Miller, “Will you take yonder battery?” “ I’ll try,” j 
was the cheerful reply of Miller. The attempt was : 
crowned with signal success. There is almost omnipotent 
power in the little word try. It is the secret talisman by 
which some men are so successful, that they are called the 
favorites of fortune. By ttying men have subdued ele¬ 
phants, vanquished lions, tamed tigers, caught whales, 
scaled mountains, traversed oceans, rode on the wings of the 
wind, harnessed the fiery thunder-bolts of heaven, and 
made innumerable discoveries and inventions, which have 
greatly contributed to the improvement and happiness of 
mankind. 

The third qualification is industry. Labor in every depart¬ 
ment of usefulness is sacred, because it has the sanction of 
high Heaven. God worked in the creation of the heavens 
and the earth, and works hitherto in preserving and sus¬ 
taining his creatures. The nobility of labor has been cel¬ 
ebrated in the best classic style. Horace says, “ Nil sine 
magno vita labore dedit mortalibus,” (B. I. Sat. IX.) But a 
higher authority says, “ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, 
do it with thy might.” 

It is surprising what value industry will confer on pro¬ 
ducts comparatively insignificant. The material of a yard 



















15 


of lace is too small to be computed; its value consists in' 
the labor bestowed. A pound of iron will furnish eighty- 
thousand watch-springs, which at twelve and a half cents 
a-piece, would amount to ten thousand dollars. 

The same law governs the intellectual as well as the 
material world. Do you aim at extensive usefulness ? Be 
industrious. Are you an aspirant after fame? Be in¬ 
dustrious. Do you wish to be an honor to your family and 
a benefactor to your race ? Be industrious. The whole 
economy of nature invites to industry. 

“ No good, or worth sublime, will heaven permit 
To fall on man, as from the passing air. 

Did Newton learn from fancy as it roves, 

To measure worlds, and follow where each moves 1 
Did Howard gam renown that shall not cease, 

By wanderings wild, which nature’s pilgrim loves'? 

Did Paul gain heaven’s glory and its peace, 

By musing o’er the bright and tranquil isles of Greece'?” 

Let those who are intimate with the biographies of those 
great men, answer these interrogatories. Let the sluggard 
sleep. His doom is sealed! Yet a little sleep, a little 
slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep : so shall his 
! poverty come as one that travelleth, and his want as an 
armed man. Sallust says, “ Death and idleness are the 
same.” Why ? “ Because oblivion covers them both.” 

The fourth qualification is perseverance. It is not doing 
a Herculean task in one day, but doing a little every day, 
and doing it well, that constitutes another secret of success. 
I Sir Edward Sugden, an eminent lawyer, thus relates his 
experience for the benefit of students : “ I resolved, when 
beginning to read law, to make every thing I acquired my 
own, and never go to a second thing till I had entirely ac- 





















16 

complished the first. Many of my competitors read as 
much in a day as I did in a week, but at the end of twelve 
months my knowledge was as fresh as on the day it was 
acquired, while theirs had glided away from their recollec¬ 
tion.” 

Appelles, who had gained the highest rank in his pro- 
| fessioti as a painter, never allowed a day to pass without 
drawing one line at least on the distended canvas, and 
I hence arose the proverb, “Nulla dies sine linea.” 

The coral insect affords another striking illustration of the 
mighty achievements of perseverance. This little insect, 
varying in size from a pea to a pin’s head, daily secretes its 
calcareous deposit, and builds its cell, until by the combi¬ 
nation of numbers and long continued effort, a small island, 
and then a huge continent rises in the midst of the ocean. 

| To comprehend the magnitude of its operations, look on 
yonder map at the island of New Holland, stretching away 
one thousand miles in one direction, and eight hundred in 
another, and then ponder in your mind the stern truth, this 
| vast country is the work of the little coral insect. 

Robert Bruce, becoming interested in the operations of 
a spider in a corner of his room, which, after many and 
: fruitless efforts, finally succeeded in swinging itself over to 
the opposite wall, was taught a lesson of perseverance by 
! which he completely baffled all the assaults of the enemies 
of his country. “ Perseverando vinces.” 

“ ‘ Never give up ! 5 —’t is the secret of glory, 

Nothing so wise can philosophy preach ; 

Think on the names that are famous in story ; 

* Never give up,’ is the lesson they teach.” 

The fifth qualification is reliance upon God. It is said of 



















17 



(plv J 

"om 


some great and good men, that they never entered upon any j 
important duty without first imploring divine wisdom and 
assistance. This seems to have been the immortal Luther’s 
plan. And from his practice evidently arose his motto, 

“ Bene precasse est bene studuisse.” It appeared to have 
been no interruption to his studies to pray three hours ; 
every day. 

Every good cause is emphatically the cause of God. : 
We are merely agents in his glorious plans. Let us not 
be discouraged in trials. God will own and bless his cause, 
and the instrumentalities of each of his subjects will be 
duly recognized. The noble man of God, to whom we have 
just alluded, once said to his coadjutors, in a peculiarly 
gloomy season, when all seemed to be lost, “ God is God.” 
What a world of thought, what an ocean of comfort is 
contained in this little expression ! And what a faith must j 
he have exercised who was its author ! Paul also could say 
with confidence, “ I can do all things through Christ which 
strengtheneth me.” 

Before we conclude, let us notice the satisfaction and enthu¬ 
siasm of overcoming difficulties. Just in proportion to the 
greatness of the obstacles overcome, will be our gratifica¬ 
tion. 


“ Je harter krieg, je edler sieg.” 


The harde the battle the more glorious the victory. Such 
was the enthusiasm of Archimedes in the study of mechan- j 
ics, that he boasted to Hiero, king of Sicily : Aog atou cVw xcu j 
ov xotf/xov “ Give me where I may stand, and I will 

move the world.” So intense was the emotion of Newton 
when about to demonstrate the law of gravitation, that he j 












18 

was obliged to desist and leave the completion to another. 
Conceive of the surprise of Franklin, when on applying a 
key to the line of his kite during a thunder storm, he re¬ 
ceived a spark of electricity. Imagine the exultation of 
Fulton vrhen he saw the first steamboat, the result of his own 
invention, move majestically over the waters amidst the 
applause of an immense multitude, who had assembled to 
witness, as they supposed, a splendid failure. 

The student has his peculiar trials. He finds it a hard 
task to abstract his mind from the allurements and gratifi¬ 
cations, as well as the excitement of the busy world, of 
which he is a component part, and to fix it on abstract 
truths, such as the subtleties of metaphysics and the intri¬ 
cacies of mathematics, or to con over dry roots of obsolete 
words, and the peculiarities of an ancient Latin or Greek 
verse. The minds of some men, too, are naturally prone 
to building air-castles, a practice utterly at variance with 
the true secret of successful study. Yet it is natural to in¬ 
dulge in the illusions of hope and fancy. His memory is 
treacherous, his judgment immature, and his fancy, if per¬ 
mitted to soar, like the little boy’s kite, when it attains a 
certain height, dodges and comes down on its head, to the 
no small confusion of its owner. And he thus realizes the 
sentiment, that “ there is but one step between the sublime 
| and the ridiculous.” Besides, ,he finds that his bosom, in 
! common with the rest of mankind, is filled with turbulent 
passions, whose government requires greater moral heroism 
than the taking of a city. 

But gradually he learns to withdraw his attention from 
the trifles of the world, and to despise many things which 















19 


men generally greatly prize. He forms the habit of concen- j 
tration on subjects, which, but for the mental discipline 
they afford, seem to have comparatively little bearing on j 
the business realities of life. Ilis judgment is matured by 1 
habits of observation and reflection. His memory like a 
faithful old slave, proves the more loyal because the more 
severely taxed. His imagination, chastened by good taste ; 
and sound criticism, may pursue its vagaries with some de- i 
gree of safety. And even those passions of the soul, whose | 
very existence he once deprecated, are now subservient to | 
his purposes. Like Alexander’s famous and spirited war- ! 
horse, Bucephalus, although once useless and dangerous, ! 
yet, when conquered and curbed, they become absolutely | 
essential to his happiness, and give energy to all his efforts | 
and glory to all his achievements. 

The most formidable obstacles in the acquisition of 
! knowledge present themselves in the beginning. And it 
has grown into a proverb in the German language, “Aller j 
an fang ist schwer.” The genius of learning, like a coy i 
i maiden, would flee away, and repel the first approach ; but | 
her affections once gained, she will lead her votaries up the ! 
steep hill of science to the portals of the temple of fame. 


Students of Wittenberg, go on ; wipe the word fail from 
your vocabulary. Should you, however, not reach the goal 
of an aspiring and laudable ambition, you will not fall 
lower than a highly respectable and talented class of men, 
known by the appellation of unsuccessful great men. Such 
men as Calhoun, Clay, Webster, and Cass, never have re¬ 
alized, and probably never will realize, a just reward of 
their labors in their own generation, while men of second- 





















20 


rate merit obtain the highest honors. True greatness al¬ 
ways excites a double emotion. While on the one hand it 
elicits the admiration of mankind, on the other hand it 
arouses their envy. The green-eyed monster, alas! too often 
palls the destiny of the truly deserving. Nevertheless 
those men have achieved for themselves a fame more en¬ 
during than monuments of brass, and their biographies j 


will be read with intense and evergrowing interest, when 
the names of some of our Presidents will be forgotten. 

But it is chiefly the Christian student who needs our counsels 
and our sympathies. He is impelled by a sense of duty 
transcendantly higher than all the motives which can be 
drawn from human ambition or worldly glory. He stands 
before the world a moral hero, the champion of the God of 
battles, the ambassador of the Prince of Peace, the re¬ 
prover of iniquity, the comforter of the distressed, the 
watchman on the towers of Zion. Whence shall we draw 
an illustration worthy of his imitation ? Christ, Paul, 
Chrysostom, Luther, and a mighty host of others, are in 
the highest sen^e his exemplars. Yet it may not be irrev¬ 
erent to introduce to his notice the conduct of the hero of 
the battle of Wagram. The well known policy of the great 
scourge of nations was to pierce the centre of the enemy, 
and then to conquer in detail. 1 “Divide et impera.” The 
battle between the French and the Austrians waged for 
some time with doubtful succfcss. At length McDonald 
was commissioned with the highly responsible and danger¬ 
ous task of piercing the Austrian centre. He moves on at 
the head of sixteen thousand brave men to within halfcannon- 
j shot of the enemy. The Arch Duke Charles, anticipating 


























11 this movement, had before greatly strengthened his centre, 

! and now brings np additional forces. Two hundred can- 
! non are so arranged in battery as to produce a cross-fire, 
i whose focus meets the advancing column with frightful en¬ 
ergy. The crisis of the battle has commenced, and the 
fate of Europe is to be determined. The head of that 
column melts away before the Austrian cross-fire like ice 
before the tropical sun. Still, others rush in to fill up the 
awful chasms made at every discharge of the murderous 
cannon. Thus the fierce conflict rages until ten out of 
every eleven have fallen, dnd only fifteen hnndred are left 
out of sixteen thousand. Their iron hearted leader had 
previously communicated his purpose to his men to con¬ 
quer or die. He halts as if to recover himself, and glances 
back on the forlorn hope yet remaining. Bonaparte, stand¬ 
ing on an eminence which afforded a view of the whole 
field, surveys the horrible carnage with dismay. Ilis heart 
•stops beating—the empire totters. McDonald, like a speck 
| in the dim distance, is seen to pause. “ Will he turn at last? ” 
is the secret and agonizing question Bonaparte put to him¬ 
self. “ Must my throne go down?” No! The brave 
general, looking away to where his emperor stands, sees a 
movement as if aid were at hand. Immediately he com¬ 
mands a fresh charge. “ Onward,” breaks from his iron 
lips. And then, amid the rolling of drums and the pealing 
of trumpets, the enemy give way—the centre is pierced— 
the day is won—the empire is saved. This was a glorious 
day for McDonald. Bonaparte riding over the ensanguined 
field to the place where the calm and collected hero stood, 
surrounded by a handful of troops, eagerly grasped his 




















22 


hand. Both generals choked with emotion. After an in¬ 
terval of a few moments, Bonaparte broke the spell by 
creating him a marshal on the spot. 

The Christian student has a still fiercer conflict to en¬ 
counter. He wrestles not only against flesh and blood, 
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers 
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness 
in high places. He wages an uncompromising warfare 
against the corrupt lusts and fierce passions of ungodly 
men combined with all the malice of Satan and the infer¬ 
nal artillery of hell. “Will he turn at last?” is the agoni¬ 
zing question of the great Captain of his salvation. “ Will 
ye also go away?” said the anxiously inquiring Savior to 
; his disciples in a gloomy hour of his earthly pilgrimage, 
i We trust not. We fain would answer for every one of you 
an emphatic NO ! The voice of our general is “ Onward.” 
Let the world frown, and devils gnash, we have nothing to 
fear. The victory is ours. Our motto is “ Nil desperandum 
Christo duce.” 

In your most fearful conflict with the powders of dark¬ 
ness, cast your eyes to where your Redeemer sits, and with 
the eye of faith see him coming to your aid, and know' that 
the moment of your deliverance is nigh. A badge of eter¬ 
nal honor awaits the test of your valor. “ Be ye faithful j 
unto death and I will give }mu a crown of life.” 

And then, when our toils are over, and our difficulties 
are vanquished, we will sheath our swords, lay by'our armor, 
and join the apostle in exclaiming: “ I have fought a good 
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 
























which the Lord the righteous Judge, shall give me at that 
day : and not to me only, but to all them also that love his 
appearing.” 


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